Q&A with Alyce Adams of ‘i can’t even’

August 26, 2015

Australian web series i can’t even is a show about the problems with fandoms. Two roommates, Lex and Em, constantly battle over their love of nerdy pop culture. Twin sister’s Alyce and Hayley Adams got together to create this web series after graduating from the Victorian College of Arts at the University of Melbourne. Both sisters took Masters courses in producing and screenwriting. According to Alyce Adams the sisters are, “twins who don’t look very alike, but have nearly all the same interests. It is our life’s biggest regret that we couldn’t become the Australian Mary-Kate and Ashley.” That quote is from Alyce Adams writer and co-creator of i cant’ even. She connected with The Press Pass, and answered some questions on behalf of her and Hayley.

Q: Why make a show focused on two nerdy girls, instead of two nerdy guys?Alyce Adams: I know we hide it really well, but underneath our hardened ‘cool girl’ exteriors we are two extremely nerdy girls. Nerdy guys abound in movies and TV shows, which are awesome (looking at you Ben Wyatt), but we wanted to create a show in which we could identify with the characters, right down to their gender. In our experience, going to con events, online and talking to friends, nerdom is full of women, so it wasn’t even that controversial of a decision, because we knew there would be an audience for it.Q: Is this your first web series?Alyce Adams: C’mon, we’re only 23. We like to aim high, but creating one web series is high enough. Also, as is obvious from our previous answers, we live busy social lives. I’m surprised we could even fit in the making of this series, what in between our time dedicated to Tumblr, TV and weekly film screenings. Honestly, it’s a miracle.Q: Why make a web series?Alyce Adams: Because TV and film cost a lot of money.No, but really, we created this concept always with the intention of making it for the web. We are big fans of web series and believe that it is its own legitimate medium, different to film and TV. You can do so much more with the format; it’s really open to experimenting. It also made the most sense to make it as a web series given the source material. The audience we want to reach lives on the Internet.

Q: What were some of the bigger challenges while filming this project?Alyce Adams: From pre-production, it would be without a doubt getting the Edward Cullen cardboard cut out. What a nightmare. If you’ve watched the episode, you would know that this prop was key to the plot. In my defense, when I was writing it, I did not think it would be hard to get. I figured people would be practically giving them away. In fact, it was the complete opposite. We looked everywhere, but the minimum 100-pound shipping fee from Amazon UK was a cost too far. We were as desperate for Edward as Bella was in New Moon. However, the heavens opened and we finally found him (like in the ending of New Moon – I swear I didn’t plan this). Hayley being the miracle worker she is, she was able to find a printing place in Victoria that made custom cardboard cut-outs. So yes, that was just a long-winded story to tell you that we own a one of a kind Edward Cullen cardboard cut out. It’s not our proudest possession, but it is our most expensive.

Q: ‘i can’t even’ likes to include the unpopular opinions of these fandoms (e.g. the Star Wars prequels are great), is there any particular reason you wrote that into the episodes?Alyce Adams: In general, most fandoms are an understanding and welcoming place, but they all have that one thing that just turns them completely insane, like for Harry Potter it was Harry/Hermione or Ron/Hermione (obviously the sane choice), and for Star Wars of course its prequels vs originals. As a writer, it’s a rich place to mine for conflict.I wanted to do that episode because even though Hayley and I know that the prequels are terrible, we watched Phantom Menace so much as kids and absolutely loved it (We were young and naïve – God forgive our souls), and that was our way into the Star Wars fandom, so it has a special place in our hearts.The episode is really just me reminding myself how bad the prequels are and stopping myself from joining the figurative dark side.

Q: Do you have a favourite episode? You can pick more than one.Alyce Adams: It’s hard to choose, not because they’re like my children (as I would definitely have a favourite), but because I keep changing my mind. At the moment, I think it would have to be The Fellowship of Billy Boyd. Hayley told me we could have maybe one scene at the end where they turn up at a con, and I said ‘yes of course, that’s a practical decision’, and then proceeded to set the entire episode there. Instead of telling me I was crazy, which would have been logical, Hayley set about actually organizing to make it happen. The fact that we were able to pull it off, and so well, is amazing. It’s my favourite because I’m so impressed by the cast and crew who were able to bring it to life and make it even better than what I had originally written. Alyce and Hayley Adams’ web series i can’t even has its own YouTube Channel, Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook page.